Megaman X  Evolution Part 1
by Rom Manic
Summary: New addition, reposted because of a formatting error


------------ Megaman X - Evolution ------------

------- Part 1 -------

During his experience as Dragoon of the sacred vessel Mitos, Ares had always been able to anticipate his opponents every move. He always had that sesne of cunning tactics that always thwarted an enemy's every move. Hell, if it weren't for him, the Legion would be in ruins.

That little ordeal was a cakewalk in comparison to the battle he faced with these robotic beings, the Maverick Hunters.

He never understood their tactics. Though scattered, their guerilla forces were beginning to dent in the preliminary force he had been assigned to take to Earth. One small unit was powerful enough to destroy an entire unit effortlessly.

Professor Lazarus may have delayed this intelligence intentionally, but he was dead and Ares was alive. To him, surviving the battle so far meant a fighting chance.

He let his head sink into his hands. The high priests were coming, and they wanted to experience the power of the Archangel project when they got here. But with each hesitant day, defending current positions, the resolve of his acolytes began to diminish over time, battle fatigue washing over them.

The sound of a shuttle broke him from his thoughts. He looked out the window of the command center, and he saw the transport vessel Colossus approaching with an escort of 2 corvettes.

Ah, he thought to himself, finally.

He walked down the steps to the landing pad. As the jets on the vessel cooled, the loading ramp extended to the platform. The Dragoon smiled as a very old looking man walked onto the dock, hobbling as he went along, cane of the elders in his hand.

"Ah, Ares," said the old man, smiling as he approached, "All is well, I presume? I sensed a feeling of urgency when you contacted me last, but I trust you have some good news to report."

"Hathar, noble elder," Ares said, bowing down on one knee, "Your presence of intuition is an inspiration for us all."

Ares rose, and Hathar put a hand on his shoulder. Hathar was one of four elders guiding the Ghazarkhan to Earth for their ultimate victory. Ares was unsure of what made one an elder, but all he knew was that when they were near, he felt a sense of enlightment, respect, duty for the cause. He supposed it naturally felt good to have leaders as devoted as they were.

All of them, except for one...

"So what is the reason you bring a crippled old man to the center of the battle?" Hathar said, eyes shining in the sun, "Is it true you have finally found the Demon?"

Ares was amazed. Though they had not found the reploid X as of yet, they were close. So close, in fact, he wanted all the elders nearby to witness the destruction of the demonic incarnation.

"Actually, we're very close to having his corpse," Ares said, standing straight in the air, "We determined he had disappeared sometime during the battle, but locked on to his internal locator module 2000 feet beneath the Ice Cap of Antarctica."

Ares faced the elder directly, his expression luminous with a strange passion, "We believe he is in the Temple of the Holy Knight,"

Hathar almost fell over in shock. He straightened himself out, then looked at Ares with hope, "You mean...The temple is here, on Earth?"

Ares smiled, letting his pride show, "Yes."

This was monumentous. With the power inside the Temple at the hands of the Ghazarkhan, the Holy Angel would be able to consume the universe in a wave of unification, glorifying the believers across all galaxies. The fables told of unspeakable powers for the Holy Angel to wield and guide them to the new age, created by the Holy Knight millenia ago.

The Ghazarkhan were simply the followers of the future. Even the Legion, who claimed to stand for good and peace, tried to stop them from this quest. Thankfully enough, the Hive wars took up much of their attention. The Ghazarkhan slipped into darkness during the battle and were never seen again. They would never be found out here.

Another cruiser flew towards them in the distance, it's bronzed armor shining in the sun. It touched down on the pad, and Ares and Hathar approached the elders who exited.

It was odd for Ares to experience such distaste for one person, especially an elder, the most sacred of religious figures. But as that one elder passed him, he felt a chill run through his body. Something about the elder, known only as Vilas to any of the Ghazarkhan, struck Ares as suspicious.

He had appeared to the Ghazarkhan some time ago, possessing powers beyond any technology anyone knew of. He could heal, use telekinesis, and even defy gravity. He brought tidings that set the Ghazarkhan into action to revive the spirit of the Holy Knight anew.

'3 others like me reside in this galaxy,' He had said, preaching to those who listened, 'We are the children of the stars, the last remnants of the forefathers legacy. We must find my siblings and bring glory to the universe!'

Those other three were a peculiar group of people. Altair had been a scientist that had a reputation for being...Overbearing with his projects. He looked like a normal human, but his eyes were like that of a serpent, more like a laceration with an eye behind it. He supposedly came from a planet called Jadan, but Ares knew not of any planet with that name, so he took it upon himself to keep a close watch on Altair. If he could prove he was lying, he could have him killed.

Taran was a Ubukazian-Human half breed. When the Legion first made it's presence it made an effort to bring multiculturalism to itself. However, a rogue cell of scientists took it upon themselves to breed with the Ubukazians, creating a somewhat superior half breed that possessed both an animal instinct and a higher intellect.

Vilas himself was a mystery. He had never shown his true figure to anyone, and nobody could see past the shadow of his hood, but Ares thought he sometimes caught a glimpse of 2 glowing red eyes beneath it.

Hathar extended his arms, welcoming his fellow Elders as they appoached, "Greetings, brothers! Today is a glorious day indeed, to see the descendants of the Holy Knight himself gathered in one place,"

The remaining 2 elders, Altair and Taran, bowed their heads towards Hathar. Vilas remained unmoved, his cloak covering his entire body.

"We have been waiting a long time for this moment," Vilas said, "There are other matters I should be attending in our own galaxy, but I think we all agree this is much more important."

Taran grinned, the spines on his back standing up, "If it were not for you, Vilas, our quest for glory would me meaningless. It is an honor to have you with us this day,"

Hathar began to walk along the catwalk to the building, his robes gliding across the ground, "Come now! We must make haste to the resurrection chamber, where we shall meet destiny at long last!"

The group moved to the building, but as Vilas passed Ares he knew he saw a grin under his cloak. It made him shiver, even through his military conditioning.

Soon, Vilas's true intents will be made certain. This Ares knew he could count on.

--------------------------------

Alia stared into blackness. Never did she think for one second that something of this magnitude could happen, anywhere. It was horrible, the way they came down in their ships and began to systematically eliminate cities, people...

But the worst was what they did with survivors.

After the first wave of attack was finished, more ships began to descend to the planet. Unlike their war vessels, these came right to the ground and deployed their warriors, or "Acolytes" as they were called. They took any survivors that would comply with their orders onto the ships for "A greater purpose". Those who did not co-operate were killed instantly.

The disturbing thing was that this "greater purpose" the Acolytes had meant. It wasn't clear until 2 months after the attack, but those who were taken were mutated beyond recognition. Though no single mutation was the same in appearance, they all shared a common rage against any who resisted the Ghazarkhan.

Where are you, X...

"Ma'am, Charlie squadron is reporting a mission success!" Said Furion, Liutenant and Communications Officer in the new headquarters, "They even found more a dozen or more human survivors!"

Alia lifted her head out of her hands. Finally, some good news.

Charlie squadron had been assigned to take back the weapons fabrication facility in East Valley City, or at least what was left of it. Recon had indicated that most of the facility was still intact, and housed a fairly large enemy outpost. With the weapons center now in their control, they could finally begin to do some heavy damage and build some decent weapons.

"Good work, Liutenant, open a channel," She said, standing up.

"Channel open, Ma'am, ready when you are,"

"Charlie squadron, this is Alia, report," Alia said into the comlink.

"Commander Godwin here, Ma'am," He replied, "Mission success. We have a firm stronghold on the facility and request an additional platoon on the double to reinforce us, as well as a medic to tend to the human survivors."

"Roger that, Commander, expect them to be there in 3 hours," Alia said, "Prepare the humans to be transported. Alia out."

Alia closed the link, then opened a channel to Signas, who was overseeing the training of the newest addition to the Maverick Hunter's.

"Signas, this is Alia, come in," She said

"This is Signas," came the reply, "Skies clear and grass green, yet?"

Alia smiled, the levity of her mood rising, "We only wish. Charlie squadron gave us the green light just a second ago, and they requested a platoon be sent out with a medical team,"

"Roger that, I'll send our best and brightest on the double. Signas out."

Alia closed the channel and looked at the viewscreen. She watched as a number of aircraft left the old underground hangar which had been re-activated since the invasion. 2 hybrid fighter jets they had called Firebirds also left as an escort.

These days, you couldn't be too safe flying around long distances like that.

"Ma'am, I've got a wave coming in from the Antarctica base," Furion said, "It's General Sting, Ma'am."

"Well, open the channel, Liutenant," Alia said, staring at the viewscreen. General Sting's face appeared before them, a blank expression on his face.

"Alia, so good to see you again," He said over the loudspeaker, becoming as rigid as a piece of steel. He saluted, even though Alia was not a designated military reploid.

"The honor is all mine, General," She said, smiling and returning the salute, "I suspect you have something of a good nature to report?"

"Oh, you noticed, did you?"

"It's hard to miss with a smile that big,"

"Well then, I suppose I should get to the point then," He said, but hesitated for a second. Alia detected a bit of foreboding from him, but he looked down at the ground.

"...General?"

General Sting looked back up at Alia, his expression blank again.

"It's X, Alia. We found him."


End file.
